The Washington Commanders will face the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Conference Championship Game. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding WR Terry McLaurin.
Is Terry McLaurin Playing vs. the Eagles?
McLaurin was not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Commanders’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit Terry McLaurin in the NFC Conference Championship Game?
Malik Nabers enthusiasts, this is the profile you’re looking at. The Giants’ rookie is an elite talent without much target competition playing in an offense with little upside under center.
Sound familiar?
Terry McLaurin has been activated this season (15 TD catches, one more than he totaled over the three seasons prior), and there are no signs of him being slowed as long as Jayden Daniels is playing at this level.
The quality of the pass is a gateway. Don’t get me wrong, deep passes that are in the right zip code are helpful, but I’m more a fan when it comes to projecting how these players are going to do weekly, on what the threat of such a pass does for them — and last week was a perfect example.
The Lions have often been attacked deep this season as their opponents have been forced to operate in an aggressive game plan based on the game script. Instead of putting themselves in that spot, the Commanders were comfortable in dialing back McLaurin’s route depth in an effort to keep him involved.
With Detroit having to respect his ability to stretch the field vertically, these passes were successful (Divisional Round: 1.6 aDOT). You can’t always count on a screen pass breaking loose for a 58-yard touchdown, but the foundation was laid to make that possible.
That doesn’t happen without Daniels. In the first five seasons of his career, McLaurin’s longest gain on a short pass was 42 yards, and that was his only 35+ yard reception on such a pass. This offense isn’t just explosive, it’s expansive, and that is why Washington representing the NFC in the Super Bowl isn’t a crazy thought.
McLaurin has now scored nine times in eight games, and if you extend his numbers in those contests for a 17-game season, we are talking about fantasy’s WR2.
- 96 catches
- 1,171 yards
- 19 touchdowns
- 19.3 PPR PPG
McLaurin deserves to be priced as a Tier 1 receiver this week. I don’t have him penciled into my preliminary Conference Championship DFS lineup, but that’s more of a roster construction thing than it is anything against Washington’s star.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Conference Championship Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
Terry McLaurin’s Fantasy Points Projection in the NFC Conference Championship Game
As of Sunday morning, McLaurin is projected to score 20.8 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 7.2 receptions for 100.3 yards and 0.6 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Eagles' Defense
With Jalen Hurts MIA for the second straight week, the Philadelphia Eagles held on against the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round thanks to the disruptive playmaking of their defense.
Philly generated its fourth-highest sack rate in 2024 thanks to an uncharacteristically blitz-heavy game plan. The Eagles blitzed 22% of Matthew Stafford's dropbacks, their fifth-highest rate all season. It worked spectacularly, as they generated two sacks and five pressures when blitzing the Rams, along with a 46% pressure rate.
There isn't a single statistical flaw in Philadelphia's defense, which ranks top 10 in every metric that encompasses the Defense+ grades (except for sack rate, where they're 15th). That makes them favorites to win the NFC Championship Game, even with how spectacular Jayden Daniels has been as the presumptive Offensive Rookie of the Year.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
Terry McLaurin’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 11:45 PM ET on Saturday, January 25.
Conference Championship WR PPR Rankings
1) A.J. Brown | PHI (vs. WAS)
2) Terry McLaurin | WAS (at PHI)
3) DeVonta Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
4) Khalil Shakir | BUF (at KC)
5) Xavier Worthy | KC (vs. BUF)
6) Hollywood Brown | KC (vs. BUF)
7) DeAndre Hopkins | KC (vs. BUF)
8) Keon Coleman | BUF (at KC)
9) Dyami Brown | WAS (at PHI)
10) Mack Hollins | BUF (at KC)
11) Amari Cooper | BUF (at KC)
12) Curtis Samuel | BUF (at KC)
13) Olamide Zaccheaus | WAS (at PHI)
14) JuJu Smith-Schuster | KC (vs. BUF)
15) Jahan Dotson | PHI (vs. WAS)
16) Jamison Crowder | WAS (at PHI)
17) Luke McCaffrey | WAS (at PHI)
18) Justin Watson | KC (vs. BUF)
19) Johnny Wilson | PHI (vs. WAS)
20) Parris Campbell | PHI (vs. WAS)
21) Nikko Remigio | KC (vs. BUF)
22) Ainias Smith | PHI (vs. WAS)
Commanders at Eagles Trends and Insights
Washington Commanders
Team: The Commanders won 23.5% of their games last season – the fourth-worst win percentage for a team that took part in a Conference Championship the following season.
QB: Jayden Daniels became the first player in NFL history with 15 rushes and 20 completions in a postseason game where he averaged 9.5 yards per pass.
QB: Daniels became the first player in NFL history with two touchdowns and 12 rush attempts without an interception in consecutive games.
Offense: Including the playoffs, there have been 15 instances in which a team starting a rookie QB score 34 points this season – the Commanders have accounted for seven of them.
Defense: How impactful has the offense been in Washington? They’ve now allowed over 2.5 points per drive nine times this season – they’ve won seven of those contests. It should be noted that their six worst point-per-drive defensive showings have all come on the road.
Fantasy: Brian Robinson ran for 77 yards and two scores on 15 carries against the Lions on Saturday night. In his previous four games, he ran for 110 yards and zero scores on 38 carries.
Betting: Do you think we'll see points in this game? Washington has covered each of the past four games that have gone over the total.
Philadelphia Eagles
Team: The Eagles lost two games in September and have lost one game since (at Washington, Week 16). In that loss, Philadelphia became the first team to score 21 points in the first quarter in a losing effort since the 2019 Texans (Divisional Round at Chiefs).
QB: Jalen Hurts is averaging 6.3 yards per pass in the postseason, down from 8.0 during the regular season.
Offense: Saquon Barkley has more rushing yards in touchdowns against the Rams this season (282) than any other player has for the season as a whole.
Defense: The Eagles have forced a turnover in 11 of their past 13 games (this coming on a streak of three turnover-less games in Weeks 6-8), including multiple in four of their past five games.
Fantasy: Hurts’ 44-yard TD on Sunday was the fourth longest by a QB inthe postseason, and he has now run for 29+ yards in 11 straight games (T-9th longest streak by a QB, the second longest streak of his career)
Betting: Since Week 10, overs are 2-0 when the Eagles play the Rams and 2-7 when Philadelphia plays any other team.
